ORLANDO, Fla. – A U.S. senator from Nebraska could become the next president of the University of Florida.
The UF presidential search committee recommended Dr. Ben Sasse as the sole finalist for the job to its Board of Trustees Thursday.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: Orlando FreeFall coming down after 14-year-old boy fell to his death | Gatorland talks recovery after Hurricane Ian | Crocs is giving away free shoes for 20th anniversary | Become a News 6 Insider]
Sasse, a Republican in his second term in the U.S. Senate, got his PhD from Yale University, taught at the University of Texas at Austin and was president of a Midland Lutheran College until 2014.
The recruitment process happened largely behind closed doors, thanks to a new Florida law. The UF search committee said its process was “exhaustive” and the school reached out to “more than 700 leaders within and outside of higher education.”
The UF Board of Trustees will now do its own evaluation, and then if Sasse is approved, his confirmation would then go to the Florida Board of Governors.
If approved, Sasse would become UF’s 13th president, replacing Kent Fuchs, who announced in January that he would step down.
Sasse is expected to visit UF on Monday to meet with students and faculty. Participants can submit questions for Sasse online.
UF’s Board of Trustees will interview Sassee on Nov. 1 at 10 a.m.
You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below: